


Claim

by slythatheart



Series: Scent Universe [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural, Barebacking, Biting, Comeplay, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-04
Updated: 2012-08-04
Packaged: 2017-11-11 10:12:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/477424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slythatheart/pseuds/slythatheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five months after the events of Scent, Sebastian and Dave's relationship evolves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to 'Scent', which was written as a submission for Smythofsky Week (Day #6 Theme - AU) on tumblr. Supernatural!AU with a POV switch at each segment. 
> 
> I don't encourage unprotected sex, but in this alternate universe Weres cannot catch or transmit human STD's, and unprotected sex is an important part of the claiming process. Since STD's are a serious concern in real life, please always be safe!

Sebastian was in love. He'd known it would only be a matter of time once he'd smelled his potential mate and started spending time with him; he just hadn't realized how much of an effect it would have on his day to day life. Every moment he was with Dave felt like a combination of perfection and torture. He loved being around the other teen, talking to him, laughing with him; just being in his presence was wonderful. But it was also difficult. He wanted Dave so badly; it wasn't just his Were side longing for his mate – the human part of Sebastian was also _so_ turned on by his boyfriend. He felt drawn to Dave, desperate to hold him, touch him, and kiss him. He wanted something more permanent than 'dating', but he had to be careful not to press matters too far. Sebastian wanted Dave to be the one to approach him about claiming when he was ready for it; the Were didn't want to do anything to make Dave feel coerced.

It was getting harder and harder for him not to push, despite his resolve. It had been five months since he and Dave had started dating, and he'd found himself slowly becoming more and more attached to the other teen, until the few days they were forced to spend apart were almost painful for Sebastian. They saw each other every day that it was safe to do so, only four days every four weeks were too difficult for Sebastian to be around Dave; the three days leading up to the night of the full moon, and the day following. In the first few months it had only been three days, but over time his desire for Dave had grown stronger, so much so that he'd had to start keeping away from him a day earlier. They'd learned that the hard way; two full moons prior, Sebastian had planned to go to the movies with Dave, but when he'd pulled up to his boyfriend's house he found he couldn't leave the car. As soon as he'd opened the car door, the scent of his potential mate hit him like a ton of bricks and the need to find and claim his mate started to fog up his brain. The moment he'd been able to, he had shut himself back in the car and driven down the street, away from temptation, before calling Dave to cancel and explain.

There had been a few close calls, times when they hadn't been quite careful enough. They'd become somewhat complacent when kissing had turned out to be relatively safe. Although it felt amazing to Sebastian, not to mention _incredibly_ hot, it had been an utterly human experience; it didn't send his Were senses and urges into overdrive, as long as they had kept it to the safer parts of the moon cycle. Unfortunately this gave them a false sense of security about what would be okay and what wouldn't; their one attempt at moving beyond kissing and some fully clothed groping had almost been a disaster.

They had been dating for three and a half months; both boys thought they'd be safe to push it a little further. They'd tried to be careful, just in case, keeping their clothes on while Dave was settled above Sebastian, grinding their hips together until the friction drove them both wild. Dave had been pushed over the edge first, and immediately Sebastian had lost all control. The smell of Dave's come had pierced right through to the core of the Were, sending him into a frenzy similar to the one he'd experienced the night he'd first realized that Dave was his mate.

He'd flipped Dave with ease, straddling him and rubbing against him almost violently. Dave was lucky that Sebastian had already been close to the brink – the Were's orgasm had dazed Sebastian just long enough to give Dave the opportunity to throw the other boy off him and lock himself in his bathroom. He had spent a good half hour showering and rinsing off his clothes as best he could until the scent was mostly gone and Sebastian calmed down.

Sebastian had, of course, felt guilty over what happened but they talked about it – _a lot_ – and eventually agreed that they just had to be more careful. Clearly they couldn't risk anything like that again until Dave was one hundred percent ready to accept Sebastian's claim. The fact that they were a pair of teenage boys who were dating (with all of the horniness and hormones that entailed) made that difficult, but they needed to push their lust aside.

Apparently, something in the way Sebastian had pounced on his boyfriend that day had entertained Dave (at least it did after the fact), because he'd started calling Sebastian 'Wildcat'. Despite the fact that wildcats as a species were nowhere near as strong or powerful as jaguars, as far as nicknames went, Sebastian loved it. And not just because of the sexual connotation of the name, though _of course_ Sebastian appreciated that aspect of it, but also because it was a reminder than Dave accepted him exactly as he was; animalistic urges and all.

There was nothing more important to Sebastian than Dave. His boyfriend had been everything to him over the last several months; Sebastian just hoped Dave felt the same way. Sometimes he got the impression that Dave was almost ready for them to mate, but other times he felt like it was still going to be a long time coming, assuming it ever did.

All Sebastian could do was be patient; he would try to show Dave how much he meant to Sebastian and hope that it was enough. He wanted to tell the other boy that he loved him, but he didn't dare. The idea that Dave might feel obligated to give into the claim before he was truly ready bothered Sebastian – Dave liked to please other people, he knew, and he didn't want that to have any influence on his boyfriend's decision.

* * *

Dave wasn't sure what to do. Sebastian was – well, Sebastian was amazing. Over the last several months, Sebastian had been Dave's rock. Sure, they'd had a few problems, but they'd gotten past each one, and besides, Dave knew that most of those had been triggered because they hadn't mated yet.

It wasn't as though Dave didn't know what he wanted any more. He'd realized months ago that Sebastian was right for him – all of his worries about that particular topic had disappeared after he started spending more time with the Were. Sometimes, Dave thought that Sebastian couldn't possibly be more perfect for him.

That was actually the whole problem. Dave _wanted_ to be Sebastian's mate, but he couldn't help but wonder what exactly he would bring to their relationship. Sebastian was everything Dave needed, but so far Dave felt like he had been able to do very little in return. He knew that Sebastian didn't feel that way; the Were made it abundantly clear that he cared about Dave. But Sebastian had also made it clear that the mateship wasn't all sexual (not that he'd been able to do much for Sebastian in that regard, either), and Dave didn't know what else he had to offer. Sebastian had told him once that the relationship was give and take, he'd mentioned something about mates having an effect on their Weres, but Dave hadn't seen any evidence of that and all he'd felt he was doing was taking, not giving.

He tried to do things for Sebastian, little things that he knew the Were would appreciate, like ordering his favorite food or bringing him a coffee when he thought Sebastian could use one. Those were the kinds of little, thoughtful things that Dave knew made a human relationship thrive, but their relationship wouldn't be exactly the same and Dave felt like he was falling short. Sebastian was always happy with everything Dave offered, but Dave felt like these tiny things were nothing compared to what Sebastian had done for him.

Sebastian had saved him. The Were might not actually know that, but it didn't make it any less true. On Valentine's Day, two months after Dave and Sebastian had first agreed to start dating, they had met at Breadstix for dinner. They hadn't realized, but someone from Dave's school, a friend – or so Dave had thought – saw them together. A few days later he'd been outed _painfully_ at school, tormented and bullied.

Dave had been completely blindsided. He'd tried calling Sebastian but the Were's phone rang out. It wasn't until he'd gotten home that it occurred to him that it was the middle of the school day; Sebastian would be in class and would have his phone on silent.

He'd looked online and found that the slurs and jokes had made their way on to his Twitter, his Facebook, everywhere. For a little while, Dave felt completely overwhelmed by the hatred and _seriously_ considered ending his life.

Then, his phone beeped at him. It was a text from Sebastian.

_Saw your missed calls, everything okay? This class is over in 15 minutes. Want me to come see you?_

It was just a simple text from his boyfriend, but it was enough. Even though Sebastian had no idea what had happened, he'd seen three missed calls from Dave and immediately offered to drive over in case something was wrong. He didn't seem to mind that he would have to skip classes, and probably a Warbler's practice if Dave wanted to see him. Which he did.

_Yes, please. Something happened at school. I'm at home now._

When Sebastian turned up Dave broke down and told him what happened. Although he could tell that Sebastian was angry, that he wanted to hurt everyone who had upset Dave, the Were stayed with him all afternoon and all night (though hiding him from Dave's parents had been a challenge). The next morning, Sebastian had asked Dave whether he would mind if he retaliated.

Dave knew it had to be really hard for Sebastian to ask him, instead of just jumping into action; he wasn't exactly the kind of person who usually asked permission or acted passively. As tempting as it was to let Sebastian have free reign and do something awful to his bullies (and Sebastian would be good at revenge, Dave was sure) he didn't want the Were getting himself in trouble over him. So, they had reached a compromise. Sebastian could react in a non-violent way if he were present to see anything happen – but he couldn't go hunting down the people who had upset Dave. Just being there for Dave was enough (although Sebastian tried to dispute that), and that was what he really needed from his boyfriend.

Of course, that didn't stop Sebastian from creating questionable photo manipulations of the main offenders in compromising situations – both individually and with each other – and posting them all over the internet. "I was present to see the online bullying," Sebastian had said when Dave asked him about it, "and what I did wasn't violent in the least."

He couldn't even pretend to be angry at Sebastian for it. Dave never told his boyfriend about those few scary minutes when he hadn't believed he could move past what happened. If Sebastian knew how close Dave had come to hurting himself, how he'd actually found himself testing the strength of one of his belts, Dave was sure that nothing would stop Sebastian from tearing those jock assholes limb from limb.

That was the biggest thing Sebastian had done for Dave, though it certainly wasn't the only. Sebastian was always doing something for him, little things and not so little things. Dave just wanted to know that he could do as much for Sebastian; that there was a reason for Sebastian to want to be with him beyond the whole 'mate' situation.

That was why he'd planned for them to spend the entire day together. It was the day before their five month anniversary (which unfortunately fell on a Monday), so Dave wanted to do something fun. He wanted to prove – to himself more than anyone else – that he could be just as good for Sebastian as his boyfriend was for him. He had a list of plans; it was late spring and the weather was supposed to be gorgeous. They were going to spend the morning having a picnic breakfast out by the lake, where they could spend a few hours just having fun. Then, they would take a long walk through the park where they had first agreed to date, and after they grabbed some lunch in town there were a few movies playing that they both wanted to see. It wasn't anything elaborate, but it was a whole day just for them and Dave had specifically planned to do things he knew Sebastian enjoyed. Not to mention, Dave's house was going to be empty that night. Even though he knew they couldn't do much without it getting risky, it would be nice to spend some time alone together; even if they were likely to end up spending it making out while wishing they could do more.


	2. The Fight

"You are the best," Sebastian exclaimed as his boyfriend handed him a rocky road ice cream.

"I don't know about that," Dave laughed, "but I'm not about to forget which ice cream is your favorite."

To celebrate their five month anniversary (and Sebastian had never expected to be the kind of guy to count each month, but apparently he _was_ – apparently they _both_ were), Dave had planned them a whole day together. The morning had been so much fun; they'd had a picnic breakfast at the lake. Dave had somehow managed to keep the food hot (bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes…his boyfriend had gone all out), then they had spent most of the morning chatting, laughing, and just being idiots chasing each other around both in and out of the water.

Sebastian had originally wanted to organize something as a surprise for Dave, but when his boyfriend had asked him to keep the whole day free and told Sebastian that he wanted to plan something for them, Sebastian was happy to let him. He liked doing things for Dave, and was a little disappointed that he couldn't plan their day himself, but he got the impression that Dave's plans were important to him. He was glad that he'd gone along with his boyfriend's request; the morning had been perfect and he had the feeling the rest of the day would be the same.

Dave was also in a great mood. He was normally happy enough, but Sebastian could feel that this was different; Dave was even more cheerful than normal. He also seemed to be more affectionate than he usually would be in public – the Were hoped that meant Dave was getting closer to accepting him and allowing the claim, but even if he wasn't, Sebastian still loved the attention.

After they left the lake, he and Dave had made their way back into town to grab ice creams before their walk in the park. Dave had insisted on treating Sebastian, and Sebastian agreed as long as Dave would let him buy their coffees later that day (because no trip to the park was complete for them without coffee).

Sebastian smiled as Dave pulled him in closer to his side. They walked for a little while as they finished off their ice creams, Sebastian laughing when Dave ended up with a streak of chocolate by his lip.

"Are you going to clean it off for me?" Dave waggled his eyebrows playfully and Sebastian was elated by how much Dave had grown into himself over the last few months. His boyfriend had been firmly in the closet only three months earlier. He hadn't chosen to come out, a bigoted jerk from Dave's school had taken that choice from him, but after an initial breakdown and a few difficult weeks, Dave had decided he was sick of feeling embarrassed and ashamed of himself for no good reason. Sebastian knew it hadn't been easy for him, but Dave had made a serious effort to embrace himself and his sexuality, and as part of that he'd also pushed himself into becoming more comfortable with public affection.

Dave was no longer hesitant to hold hands or hug Sebastian in public. He didn't flinch or pull away when the Were attempted to kiss him around other people anymore, and he would even sometimes be the one to initiate it.

The Were couldn't be more proud of his boyfriend.

"Look at you, being all playful," Sebastian flirted as he leaned over and kissed away the mess from the edge of Dave's mouth, "When did you get so confident?"

Dave grinned and nudged Sebastian gently. "You must be rubbing off on me, Wildcat."

"If I could be, babe, I definitely would be," Sebastian replied mischievously, licking his lips and smirking at his boyfriend. Months ago, the Were knew that Dave would have been uncomfortable with a comment like that, but that was another thing that his boyfriend had managed to overcome. Instead, he was laughing and pressing a kiss to Sebastian's temple.

After spending some time joking around and debating which movie they would see that afternoon, he and Dave ended up sitting together on what Sebastian privately considered _their_ bench.

It was relaxing, just spending time pressed up beside Dave, sometimes talking, sometimes just watching the world around them and enjoying the presence of the man he loved. Sebastian couldn't remember how he had been happy before Dave had become part of his life – he hoped he would never have to go back to being without him.

* * *

They'd been sitting together on the bench for about an hour when Dave's stomach growled.

"Really, babe?" Sebastian joked. "We had ice cream an hour ago! And we had a massive breakfast."

Dave shrugged. "I'm a growing boy."

Sebastian winked but didn't say a word. Dave could think of at least half a dozen jokes that were probably running through Sebastian's head and rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's smirk. Sebastian chuckled, hopping to his feet.

"How about you wait here and I'll grab us coffee and something to snack on? I kind of want to hang around here for a bit longer before we go and get a proper lunch."

"Sounds good," Dave agreed, humming happily as Sebastian bent down to give him a quick kiss.

The day had been going perfectly. Dave couldn't have been happier with how things were turning out. He still felt like there had to be more he could offer Sebastian, but his boyfriend had clearly been enjoying the day that Dave had planned. That would have to be enough for the moment. They had both had a lot of fun and Dave felt reassured to know that he had been the reason why Sebastian was so happy.

He spent a few minutes musing to himself about his relationship with the Were, trying to figure out what else he could do to see Sebastian smile as widely as he'd been doing that morning, but was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his name.

"Dave!"

With a quick glance around Dave spotted one of the girls he'd been partnered with in the past for science class. "Hey Jacinta. What's going on?"

"Not much," she replied with a grin, "I'm just waiting for my boyfriend. He's supposed to meet me here soon." Jacinta dropped onto the bench beside Dave. She was a short, bubbly girl with auburn hair and what appeared to be a constant smile. She hadn't been one of the students giving him trouble when news about him had spread around Thurston; they weren't really friends, but she was nice enough and they chatted sometimes when they bumped into each other.

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone. Someone from school?"

Jacinta shook her head. "Nah. His name is Brendan, he graduated the year before last. What about you? Doing anything interesting?"

Dave thought about his response briefly, but decided to go with honesty. She'd never given him any reason to think she cared he was gay, and Dave was pretty proud to have Sebastian as a boyfriend, anyway.

"Same," he replied, "waiting for my boyfriend. He's grabbing us some snacks."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a boyfriend! I mean, I'd heard rumors but I don't listen to that crap. Is he cute?" She was bouncing in her seat by the time she'd finished talking.

Her enthusiasm was infectious and Dave couldn't help but grin as he answered her. "I don't know if Sebastian would like being called cute. Hot, definitely."

She squealed a little, though Dave could tell she'd tried not to. "How hot are we talking? Like, Good-Looking-Hot? Or, Holy-Panty-Dropping-Sex-On-A-Stick-Hot?"

Dave could feel a blush spreading across his face. He didn't reply, but from Jacinta's excited squeal (this time she didn't even try to stop it), he didn't need to.

"Oh, that _definitely_ means the second one! Can I meet him? I'm dying to see what he looks like, now!"

"Well, he should be back soon," Dave chuckled.

Jacinta shook her head. "Am I acting weird? It's just…all of my friends are single so it's kind of cool to talk to someone else who isn't. Also – well, I know you copped hell from some of the jerks at school. It's kind of nice to know that you're happy anyway." She hesitated and placed her hand on his arm gently. "I wanted to check on you when everything happened, but…I really didn't know what to do. I didn't know if you'd think I was just trying to get gossip since we didn't know each other that well. I mean, that wouldn't have been true _at all_ , but you wouldn't know that. I know that there were some people who wanted to talk to you just because they wanted to know everything…and I kinda figured you wouldn't want random people nagging you when you were upset. Oh…I'm sorry. I'm totally rambling. But, you know what I mean, right?"

He nodded. A few others from school had told him similar. He didn't know how he would have reacted. Dave liked to imagine he would have appreciated the gesture, but he also thought there was a chance he'd think people were approaching him out of pity or curiosity. He probably wouldn't have responded well if he thought that were the case. "I know what you mean. Thank you. And yeah, I'm happy. Sebastian is…well, he's complicated, and most people think he's an asshole, but he's my asshole and he's kind of just right for me, you know?"

He shrugged but he knew he was smiling, too. Jacinta obviously understood what he was trying to say, because her eyes were bright and she was grinning happily. Dave was surprised to find himself with his arms suddenly full of tiny redhead. For such a small person, she gave an unexpectedly strong hug. He relaxed into it for a moment; the only people who hugged him were Sebastian and Dave's dad. It was nice to be hugged by a friend.

The only warning Dave got that something bad was about to happen didn't even process until he was already pressed up against a tree. For a minute all he could do was wonder how he'd gotten there, it was several feet from the bench he'd been sitting on. Then, his brain caught up. He registered a harsh pain in his back and a deep growling sound that he realized he'd heard for a moment while hugging Jacinta.

They had just been starting to pull out of the hug when Dave had heard that noise and felt himself being pulled away from his friend. After that, he'd been dragged off the bench and slammed into the nearby tree trunk. He hadn't had time to struggle, though Dave didn't think it would have helped anyway; the man holding him in place with a forearm pushed hard against his throat was clearly a Were.

Five months earlier Dave would not have been able to tell, but his time with Sebastian made him more attuned to that sort of thing. The man in front of him had a predatory glint in his eye. He was much stronger than he looked, and the growl reverberating from him was far too realistic to come from a human.

If it hadn't been for Jacinta trying to calm his attacker down – apparently, this was her boyfriend Brendan – Dave was fairly certain he would have already been punched. Probably a few times.

"Brendan, please, put him down! He's a friend of mine, that's all! It's not what it looked like!"

"Your _friend_ ," Brendan glared at Dave as he spoke, "shouldn't have his slimy hands on you."

"It's not like that," Dave choked out.

"Sure it's not!"

"He's telling the truth, Bren," Jacinta pleaded as she tried to pull Brendan's arm away with no success, though the Were looked like he was starting to calm slightly, "he's a friend from school. A _gay_ friend from school."

"Bullshit," Brendan countered, his face twisting angrily at her words, "guys like this aren't gay. He's playing you."

Dave wanted to reply, but Brendan's arm was pressing tighter, and he knew he wouldn't be able to speak. He was already struggling to breathe.

Jacinta was babbling at her boyfriend, trying to convince him of the truth, but Dave could tell it was just making the Were more angry. Whatever he was thinking, he'd convinced himself he was right. From how angry Brendan was, Jacinta had to be his mate, or at least his potential mate, and Dave could tell that her standing up for Dave was just making Brendan more upset.

Dave never expected that someone would try to hurt him because they _didn't_ think he was gay. _He thinks I'm manipulating her, and that she fell for it. That's almost funny,_ Dave thought as he started to feel lightheaded and everything began to blur.

Out of nowhere, the arm holding him in place was released and Dave stumbled. A strange combination of screaming and growling was filling Dave's ears, but it was overwhelmed by a loud and inhuman snarling. The latter was aggressive and intimidating; it was the single most frightening noise he'd ever heard. Or it would have been, if he didn't already recognize it as coming from Sebastian. After taking a few deep breaths to calm the burning in his lungs, Dave's vision cleared and he began to make sense of what was happening.

Sebastian had apparently been on his way back when he saw Dave being pinned against the tree. He was obviously not happy about it. His boyfriend had Brendan on the ground, and had apparently already gotten several good hits in. Jacinta had stopped screaming; she was trying to pull Sebastian off her boyfriend but after a particularly vicious growl in her direction, she backed away and started crying.

"Sebastian!" Dave called out as he made his way over to the brawling Weres. "Come on, stop! I'm okay." Brendan looked as though he'd been jumped by a gang rather than one teen, and privately Dave felt unreasonably proud of Sebastian, though he stamped it down with some common sense. He didn't want his boyfriend getting in trouble just because Brendan thought Dave had been hitting on his mate and reacted badly.

"You…think you can…attack…my mate?" Sebastian was practically spitting with anger as he snarled at the other Were between hits. From the wide eyed horror on Brendan's face, Dave assumed he had figured out that he was wrong about Dave and Jacinta.

Brendan stilled under Sebastian, his head tilted back dramatically, exposing his throat. Dave had seen something similar on documentaries, but Sebastian apparently didn't care that the other Were was trying to submit; he didn't seem to want to stop hurting Brendan.

Dave really thought that Jacinta's boyfriend should have believed her in the first place, but he still felt a little pang of sympathy for him. Sebastian was doing a number on the other Were. Dave moved right up to them and, reaching down, locked an arm around Sebastian's torso. Sebastian stiffened but stopped moving, and Dave took the opportunity to try and calm him by speaking soothingly in his ear.

"Seb, come on, relax. It's okay. I'm okay. He didn't hurt me."

"He _would_ have," Sebastian replied, with a dangerous look to the bleeding man below him.

"Maybe," Dave allowed, "but he didn't. You got here in time. You _protected_ me. He won't try and hurt me again. C'mon, Wildcat, you can _stop_ now."

For a moment, Dave worried that Sebastian wouldn't listen – that he'd keep hitting, scratching and biting Brendan until the other man was nothing but a smear on the floor – but then he felt Sebastian relax just slightly against him. He coaxed his boyfriend back until they were sitting on the bench, as Jacinta ran forward and dropped to the ground to check on Brendan.

From what Dave could tell, the other man was still conscious. If Brendan hadn't been a Were, he was pretty sure that wouldn't have been the case.

After a few minutes, Brendan was on his feet, though he was leaning quite heavily on Jacinta. She looked pretty pissed, though Dave thought Brendan just looked resigned.

"I'm sorry," Brendan conceded, "I misread the situation."

Jacinta was glaring at Sebastian, though she didn't seem to be too happy with Brendan, either. Dave couldn't blame her; if their roles were reversed, he thought he'd be pretty angry at both of the Weres, too.

Sebastian didn't respond; he was too busy glaring daggers. Dave rubbed his hand in circles on Sebastian's back in a way that he hoped was calming.

"Jacinta was being honest with you," Dave said softly, his throat still feeling rough. He was relieved when Jacinta shot him an apologetic look. At least she wasn't mad with him as well.

"I…yes. I should have listened. I thought that you were trying to…well, it doesn't matter."

"No, it _doesn't_ matter," Sebastian shot angrily at the other Were. "You attacked my mate. You should thank yourself lucky to be _alive_."

"I didn't know," Brendan defended, "I can't smell a claim on him. If I had, I would have acted differently."

* * *

Sebastian could feel Dave tense beside him at the other Were's words. As if it wasn't bad enough this dick had hurt Dave, he was going to try to make Dave and Sebastian feel responsible for it?

_Not happening._

There was _no way_ that Sebastian was going to let an over-protective asshole make Dave feel guilty that he wasn't ready to make such a big commitment. Their relationship was no one else's business.

"Don't," Sebastian snarled. "Don't even _try_ to make an excuse. You said it yourself, you misread what was happening. Your mate tried to tell you that you were wrong, and you ignored her. You attacked my mate, and you treated your own as though she were lying to you…as though _you don't trust her_." Sebastian saw the look of hurt on the girl's face, but he wasn't exactly feeling sympathetic. "That's pathetic – you don't deserve a mate if you have so little respect for her. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Even though he'd been abstractly defending the other Were's girlfriend, Sebastian knew that his words were likely to be considered offensive to both of them, rather than just the man who had attacked Dave. He wasn't surprised when the girl tried to argue.

"That's not fai—"

"No, Jacinta, don't," Brendan interrupted, "he's right. I should have listened to you."

Perhaps under different circumstances, Sebastian would have let the situation rest, but this glorified _dog_ had attacked Dave.

"That's all you have to say? You don't even think you should apologize to her? Actually, with your sad excuse for an apology towards us, maybe she's better off without."

"Seb!"

He couldn't find it in himself to pull together any real compassion for the other Were, or even the girl. She was this Were's mate, Sebastian could easily smell that, but instead of calming her Were the way she should have, she'd let him attack Dave. Oh, she'd apparently argued against it, and tried to pull him away, but she hadn't really tried to settle the other Were properly. If she had, this wouldn't have happened.

Dave had calmed him so easily; by holding him, talking to him soothingly, keeping his temper steady for Sebastian and encouraging Sebastian to do the same. Dave wasn't even technically his mate yet, but he had managed it…this girl had no excuse.

"This is partly her fault as well, I suppose," Sebastian stated cuttingly. "She could have stopped you if she'd really tried!"

* * *

"Sebastian!" Dave was horrified by the things his boyfriend was saying. He knew Sebastian could be a jerk when he wanted to be, but Dave didn't think Sebastian really had any reason to be hurtful towards Jacinta. He didn't want to analyze the idea that skittered across his brain; that in Sebastian's position maybe he would be doing the same thing.

"She's your friend, I get it, babe," Sebastian countered, "but she should have calmed him down. She didn't – if anything, from what I saw on my way towards you, she made it worse." Dave wanted to argue on Jacinta's behalf, but he'd had the same thought while the air was being choked out of him. "She's his mate, Dave. She could have reined in his anger; settled him like you did for me. You and I aren't even mated, and it only took you what…ten seconds to stop me?"

"I tried to stop him! He wouldn't listen!" Jacinta sounded hurt and defensive. It was true that she'd tried to stop Brendan, though she hadn't done a very good job. Sebastian seemed to think that she just hadn't tried hard enough, though. Dave remembered something his boyfriend had told him several months ago; that a Were's mate was the only one who could calm them if they were particularly agitated.

He didn't want to be rude, or accuse Jacinta the way Sebastian had – she was a nice girl and he'd always gotten along well enough with her, but if Sebastian was right (and Dave had no reason to doubt him), then why _hadn't_ she stopped Brendan? After all, it was true that he'd managed to calm Sebastian down relatively easily once he'd gotten close to the Were.

"Jacinta? Please don't take this badly, but…why _didn't_ you stop Brendan? You're his mate, isn't that something you're supposed to be able to do? I mean…I know you tried to talk to him, but Seb is right, I think what you said just made him angrier."

"I…I didn't mean to! I tried to explain…I couldn't pull him away, he's a lot stronger than me…what else could I have done?" Jacinta looked stricken. Dave felt a pang of guilt at that, but he was too interested in the looks being shared between the two Weres to focus on it. Brendan looked…uncomfortable? Dave wasn't sure what was going on, but judging by Sebastian's narrowed eyes his boyfriend did.

"You…you fucking _mongrel_ ," Sebastian hissed at the other Were. "It's pieces of shit like you that give our kind a bad name! Did you tell her _anything_ she needs to know? Or did you just find her and claim her and leave her completely in the dark? Did you even give her the option to say no or did you just _force_ her, you scummy—"

"She had a choice – of course she did! And she knows what she needs to!"

Dave was confused, though he was starting to get an idea of what was going on. Jacinta, on the other hand, looked completely lost. Sebastian had told him a lot about Weres, but it didn't seem like Brendan had done the same with his mate.

"Oh, _really_?" Sebastian sneered. "And exactly what is it that you think she _doesn't_ need to know? _Everything other that the fact that she is your mate?_ " One look at Brendan's face and Dave could tell Sebastian had been exactly right. Dave wrapped his free arm across Sebastian's chest. He could feel his boyfriend's muscles tightening, readying for action, and Dave began to whisper at him again. He didn't think his words even made sense, but he could tell it was helping, regardless, when Sebastian didn't leap at the other Were despite the fact that he obviously wanted to. "You really _are_ pathetic. So, what? Are you so controlling that you won't let your mate know she has the power to tame you, even though it's for her own safety? Did you just hope she would never manage to do it accidentally? What happens if you are so angry that you lash out at _her_ and she doesn't know how to stop you? Do you even care? You are…you are an embarrassment."

Dave could feel Sebastian's heart racing under his palm. He knew that his boyfriend was close to raging; he was pretty sure that the Were was only under control because Dave was there keeping him calm. It was a strange thrill, knowing he could do something substantial to help Sebastian. Part of him wanted to watch the Weres, to see their expressions and reactions. There was something so primal about them while they were angry, but Dave couldn't tear his eyes away from the small redheaded girl.

Her eyes were wide and she looked hurt. Betrayed.

"Seb…" Dave murmured, "I think we should go. They need to talk about everything."

Dave shot a meaningful look at Sebastian then glanced deliberately towards Jacinta. The Were looked over at her and apparently understood, because he nodded at Dave and stood up.

"You better tell her everything," Sebastian growled at the other Were, before turning to the sad looking girl. Dave didn't think he'd ever seen Jacinta looking anything less than joyful before; he felt strangely responsible though he knew this wasn't his fault.

"Jacinta, was it?" Sebastian questioned, his face softening. At her cautious nod, he continued, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, please ignore anything hurtful I said to you; I assumed that you knew everything. But please don't ignore _this_. You are the _only_ person who will _always_ be able to calm him if he needs it. _Don't_ let him tell you otherwise. You saw Dave do it for me." She nodded again, and Dave met her eyes for a moment.

"You still have my number, right?" Dave asked. They'd traded numbers during their paired project, though he didn't think they'd ever shared a phone conversation or text message that wasn't related to their school work. Jacinta said yes, though she did it so softly Dave almost couldn't hear her. "If you have any questions that Brendan won't answer, or that you don't want to ask him, call me, okay? Or just find me at school. Sebastian and I can help." He looked over at his boyfriend imploringly, but he needn't have bothered. Sebastian was already simultaneously nodding at Dave's suggestion while glaring at Jacinta's boyfriend as though he were something foul Sebastian had stepped in.

Brendan remained silent, which Dave was grateful for. With everything that was going on, Dave didn't know how much longer he'd be able to hold Sebastian back. If he were truthful, he was more worried that he'd stop wanting to.

Dave turned to leave, pulling Sebastian along with him, though Sebastian was moving backwards as though unwilling to turn his back to the other Were. That was probably exactly his reasoning, Dave acknowledged.

"Dave? Sebastian? Thank you."

He turned back and smiled at Jacinta. She sounded awful and Dave didn't blame her for that at all. He couldn't imagine how upset he would be in her shoes. "You look like you could use a hug," he said quietly, "I would offer you one, but I don't think that's the best idea right now."

"Probably not, but thank you anyway," She smiled sadly and shrugged.

Dave sighed, wishing he could do more, but knowing it wasn't really his place to interfere beyond what he and Sebastian had already done. As much as he hated to do so, he walked away, lacing his fingers with Sebastian's and coaxing his still-glaring boyfriend along with him.

* * *

"Fucking Werewolves," Sebastian spat angrily once they'd gotten a good distance away. He sighed as they came upon the remains of the snack that he had picked up for Dave and himself from the Lima Bean. Two cups that had once contained their coffee and a paper bag were lying on the ground where he had dropped them. From the sad look of the squashed and dirty bag, Sebastian may have also stepped on it in his haste to get to Dave once he'd seen what had been happening.

_How annoying_ , he thought briefly as he leaned down to pick up the rubbish before disposing of it in a nearby bin, _I got the last mini cheesecake and Dave loves those._

"He's a wolf, then?"

Sebastian glanced up at Dave, who looked surprisingly calm considering the situation they had just found themselves in, and nodded. He felt a pang of guilt at the gravelly sound of his boyfriend's voice. Sebastian knew it was irrational, but part of him felt responsible for leaving Dave alone in the first place. Not that he was stupid enough to say so aloud, he knew exactly how Dave would feel about that.

No, he just had to keep reminding himself that the person to blame was that overbearing and over-territorial Werewolf. He'd gotten there in time, thankfully, to stop any permanent harm from coming to his boyfriend, though he was livid that anything had happened at all. Dave had been choked, his throat sounded sore and irritated, and Sebastian was sure that he'd been close to losing consciousness. If he ever saw that Brendan asshole again, it would be too soon. Sebastian was just glad he'd roughed up the other Were pretty well before Dave had stopped him.

He made his way back over to his boyfriend, grabbing Dave's hand in his. Sebastian looked over him carefully as they continued walking towards Dave's car. Dave had a red mark along the front of his throat that Sebastian hoped wouldn't bruise, and a moment earlier had been rolling his shoulders with a wince.

"Does it hurt much? Your throat looks like it's probably okay, but I want to take a look at your back and shoulders if they are bothering y—"

Dave cut him off quickly. "Seb, I'm fine! I think my back is a little bruised, and my throat hurts a bit, but it's nothing bad. You, on the other hand…you look really hurt."

Sebastian frowned at Dave's words. He felt perfectly fine. Looking down over himself, he tried to figure out what his boyfriend was talking about.

_Oh…those._

He'd done a pretty good number on the other Were, but he had his own share of scratches and bite marks along his arms and probably on his neck. His shirt had a lot of tears in it, and there were bits of dried blood visible here and there. Sebastian thought that he might also have a bruise on his cheekbone where the Werewolf had gotten a lucky punch in, but overall he was fine, and he'd definitely come out the better (by _far_ ) in the fight.

"I'm okay, babe. Besides, you saw the other guy," he joked. It fell a bit flat, if Dave's expression was any indication.

Dave stopped walking, his grip on Sebastian's hand causing the Were to do the same. "That's not funny, Seb. You could have been really hurt."

"You could have been, too," Sebastian sighed. They were very alike with that sort of thing, he knew, worrying more about each other than themselves. Dave pulled him in closer, and Sebastian was pleased to feel Dave's arms wrap securely around him.

"I'm a bit achy," Dave admitted, "but it's nothing a hot soak won't fix. You're bleeding, though, Wildcat. Let's go back to my place and get you cleaned up, okay?"

There was nothing wrong with him that a hot shower and a few days wouldn't fix, none of the scratches or bites were particularly deep, but Sebastian figured that this was something that Dave needed more than he did, so he nodded and pressed a quick kiss against his potential mate's neck. "Alright, babe, we can play Doctor if you like. Although I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be more fun than what you're planning."

Dave snorted against Sebastian's shoulder and smacked him lightly on the arm. "You can make anything sound perverted."

"It's a gift."


	3. The Discussion

"Ow!" Sebastian yelped.

Dave laughed at the wide eyed look on the Were's face. Sebastian was sitting shirtless on Dave's bed, the first aid kit open next to him. Dave had spent the last several minutes cleaning and covering the scratches and bite marks all over Sebastian's arms and torso. They were about halfway done. When his boyfriend had first taken his shirt off, Dave had been stunned; there were a lot more marks than he'd originally thought. Sebastian had shrugged them off as unimportant, and after a closer look, Dave was relieved to see that there was nothing deep enough to cause any real worry. He'd asked Sebastian if he would need a rabies shot and the Were had laughed for a good five minutes.

"There's no way that hurt," Dave scoffed, as he attempted once again to press the antiseptic soaked cotton to a bite mark on Sebastian's left shoulder.

"It did!"

"I haven't even touched it yet!" he countered, holding up the clean cotton as evidence.

Sebastian glanced up at Dave innocently. "Were senses…?"

"Liar," Dave grinned, shaking his head at his boyfriend. Most of the time, Sebastian was arrogant, snarky, and completely inappropriate. But sometimes, he was just really, really cute. Sebastian threw him the most adorable puppy eyes Dave had ever seen, paired with a killer pout. He'd already fallen for that look repeatedly since he'd gotten out the first aid kit – he needed to put a stop to it. "Don't pout at me. You've been complaining about this since we started."

"Because it hurts!" Sebastian whined, prodding Dave's calf with his toe and batting his eyelashes. "It stings _really_ badly."

"I call bullshit, Seb. You are bitching about the antiseptic stinging, but you haven't complained once about the cuts and bites themselves, and they _definitely_ have to hurt."

"Umm…they do?"

Dave rolled his eyes good naturedly. He'd figured out the Were's game plan after the third time Sebastian complained.

"If I promise to kiss each one when I'm done cleaning it _without_ you pretending that it hurts, will you stop?"

His boyfriend beamed at him, and Dave felt his heart leap. Bright smiles from Sebastian (ones that weren't laced with mischief) were rare. " _Maybe_."

"Maybe I should start calling you 'Kitten'," he teased.

"Shut the fuck up," Sebastian grumbled, though the effect was countered by the smile still gracing his lips.

Dave couldn't help but lean forward and kiss the Were, though he took the opportunity to start cleaning the bite while his boyfriend was distracted. When Dave pulled back and Sebastian didn't protest, he raised an eyebrow and held up the newly red streaked cotton.

Sebastian shrugged and shot him an unapologetic smirk, but stopped complaining while Dave busied himself finishing what he was doing.

He wanted to talk to Sebastian about the claiming. He'd been thinking about it more and more but after the events of that morning, he'd made his mind up.

Dave wanted Sebastian to claim him, and he wanted it to happen soon.

He already knew he was happy with Sebastian and that the Were would always try to do the right thing by him. That had been made even clearer to him by the obvious difference between their relationship and the one Jacinta shared with her boyfriend. Sebastian had always been upfront and honest with him about their situation – Dave appreciated that so much. And after the way he had managed to help Sebastian when the Were was out of control, Dave no longer felt like their relationship was off balance. He _did_ have something to offer his boyfriend after all; something that he couldn't get from just anyone.

After he cleaned, kissed and covered the last scratch, Dave tidied up the mess he'd made, put away the first aid kit, and washed his hands. Sebastian had already insisted on looking over Dave's back before he'd let himself be cleaned up. There was a pretty impressive bruise which Sebastian was none too pleased to see. It ached when Dave moved a certain way, but he had no scrapes or cuts.

When Dave came back into his room, he found Sebastian sprawled out across the bed, with his arms spread out like a child wanting a cuddle. He was making _those eyes_ again. Dave laughed and sank down beside him, pulling the Were onto his chest and into a hug.

"I didn't know you were such a baby," he teased.

"I'll be anything you want me to be," Sebastian flirted as he nuzzled against Dave and slipped a hand up under his shirt, tracing his fingers through Dave's chest hair, "if it gets you touching me."

Dave smiled contentedly. He was too happy about finally having made his decision to be bothered by how cold Sebastian's fingers were or the dull ache from the pressure on his back. "You just need to be you."

"That's incredibly sappy of you, babe." Sebastian leaned up on one elbow so he and Dave could look at each other properly. Dave could see how pleased his boyfriend really was, despite the way he was hiding it behind a joke.

"Seb…I want you to claim me."

* * *

When he heard the words he'd been waiting months for, Sebastian was elated. It only lasted a moment, though, before reality hit. He and Dave had just been involved in a very dramatic and dangerous situation, his mate couldn't be thinking clearly.

He sighed sadly. Sebastian wished he could just take Dave's words at face value, but if his boyfriend regretted this decision he could end up resenting Sebastian, and that was something that the Were just couldn't live with. He could handle waiting, but he didn't think he could handle it if Dave was unhappy in a mateship with him.

"Babe…that's…" Sebastian started, but he didn't know how to deny Dave when he looked so happy and hopeful. He took a deep breath and tried not to hurt the other boy's feelings with his words. "You know that I've wanted this since the night I realized what you were to me, but I don't think that now is the right time."

"What? Why not?" Dave looked confused, but Sebastian was glad to see he didn't look too upset.

He didn't want to imply that Dave didn't know what he wanted, but he also wasn't entirely convinced that his boyfriend hadn't been influenced by what had happened earlier that day. He was especially apprehensive considering the wolf had tried to blame their unmated status for his attack on Dave. Sebastian didn't believe Dave was worried about being attacked again, but it would be just like him to worry that he'd get Sebastian in trouble.

"I just think that we've had a really big day, and I don't want you to decide something this important so soon after."

"You think that I'm only doing this because of what happened this morning," Dave concluded with a frown.

"I'm not saying you don't know what you want. It's just…if you want me to claim you, I want to know for sure that it's because you really want it, and not because you've been influenced by a bad experience. That's all."

"That sounds an awful lot like you _are_ saying that I don't know what I want."

"Please, Dave…please don't take this the wrong way. I just couldn't bear it if you ended up regretting your decision. I don't _ever_ want you to look at me the way your friend looked at her…her _boyfriend_." Sebastian couldn't help but feel irritated as he finished his sentence. There were a lot of names he'd wanted to use in place of 'boyfriend' (' _shit-encrusted fuckface_ ' had been his top choice), but he didn't really think that would accomplish much other than cause frustration for Dave. Though, it would probably make himself feel a little better.

Dave pulled him down suddenly. Sebastian didn't have time to brace himself; instead he sprawled gracelessly across Dave's chest. As he tried to move, he found himself being shifted by his boyfriend until he was effectively blanketing Dave. He'd been pulled up so that his head was on the pillow beside Dave's neck, and his boyfriend's face was buried against Sebastian's neck. He could feel Dave's warm breath as the other boy nuzzled against him for a moment.

"Wildcat…you're an idiot." Sebastian felt the words more than he heard them.

"I'm not! I'm doing the right thing."

The Were felt a sigh against his skin, followed by a wet kiss. Without warning, Dave rolled them so that Sebastian was flat on his back, his boyfriend leaning over him.

"Yes," Dave emphasized with a kiss. "You—" Kiss. "Are—" Kiss. "An idiot." Kiss.

Sebastian briefly wondered if arguing would result in more kisses or if it would just annoy his potential mate, but Dave started speaking again before the Were came to a decision.

"How could you think I would regret this? Listen to what you're saying – you're trying to do the right thing by me. _You always are_. You've done nothing but be amazing and supportive. And upfront. Everything you've done has been for me and to make sure I'm happy and ready. Which I _am_."

"You can't argue that the timing doesn't give me a pretty good reason to worry, babe."

"Maybe," Dave conceded, "but I've been thinking about this for weeks. And yeah, what happened this morning has helped me be sure, but I didn't decide just because of that."

A seedling of hope was budding in his chest at Dave's words, but Sebastian pushed it aside. It would hurt too much if he let himself feel encouraged only to be let down later. Not that he would blame Dave if he changed his mind, but…

"Weeks, huh?" he questioned.

"Yes," Dave replied, without hesitation, " _weeks_. Over a month, actually."

It didn't seem to Sebastian as though Dave was being dishonest, but the Were was still unsure. If Dave had been thinking about it for so long, why hadn't he said something before? What had been holding him back? Why had he suddenly decided to go for it?

Sebastian wasn't sure he wanted to know – if Dave admitted, even indirectly, to the reasons that Sebastian suspected (guilt at the fight being a large one), then he would be so disappointed. He had to know, though. He couldn't just agree to claim Dave and blindly hope for the best, nor could he ignore his boyfriend's request now that it was there between them. "Okay…so, what was it from this morning that made you ask now? What made you sure?"

"Pretty much you." Sebastian quirked a questioning eyebrow and Dave grinned. "What? You want details?" he joked.

The Were rolled his eyes. "Details would be good, yes," he replied, perhaps a little too heavy on the sarcasm. Dave tilted his head and looked down at Sebastian expectantly. Sebastian rolled his eyes again, before trying once more. "Yes, please, Dave," he said in his most charming and polite (not to mention insincere) tone, "details would be _wonderful_. Thank you."

"Much better," Dave commented with a grin.

"Right," he sulked. Sebastian knew Dave was just messing with him, but that didn't stop him from feeling frustrated. Dave knew what his reasons were; Sebastian didn't. While Dave might be playful and happy, Sebastian was nervous and on edge. He was trying not to be too bratty, but his boyfriend was frowning at him. "Sorry," he sighed, "I'm just…I need to know. This is a big thing for us..."

Dave's frown eased and he leaned down to place a soft kiss on Sebastian's nose.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be joking with you right now." Sebastian didn't know how to reply, so he just made a noise that he hoped made some sort of sense to Dave. Apparently it did, because he smiled at Sebastian then shifted them both.

When he was done, the teens were on their sides facing each other, sharing a pillow. Sebastian's hand was pressed against his boyfriend's chest, while Dave was playing with the hair at the nape of the Were's neck.

"Did I do this wrong?" Dave asked quietly. "I mean…it's a big deal, right? Should I have tried to be romantic?"

Sebastian chuckled as he let his hand wander over Dave's shoulder and down his strong arm. "I don't think you _can_ do this wrong."

"Well…okay then. I really _have_ been thinking about this for a while, you know. And I really do want it. After this morning…the lake, not the park, I was almost ready. We had such a good time…there was just this one thing. It's been bugging me for a while. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I figured you would just try to make me feel better and I kinda think it was something I needed to work out for myself." The concern that Sebastian had done something to upset Dave must have been all over his face, because Dave was almost tripping over his own words to explain. "It's not…you didn't…I just…it wasn't you, it was me."

The Were blinked at his boyfriend. He'd just managed to slide his fingers up under Dave's shirt when the other teen finished speaking. His hand stilled halfway up to Dave's pecs; his little finger had somehow slipped into the dip of his boyfriend's navel but Sebastian was too startled by the last words he'd heard to move. "Did you really just use the most clichéd break up line _ever_ on me after asking me to claim you?"

_He doesn't want me. He's changed his mind. He's done with me._

"No! I mean, yes," Dave cringed, "but it's true! I'm not, you know, breaking up with you. I'm _definitely_ not breaking up with you." Sebastian felt the terror that had started creeping over him relax at those words. It had been irrational considering the rest of their conversation, but the fear of being rejected by his mate was instinctual. He started stroking the skin beneath his fingertips, but couldn't stop himself from first jabbing Dave's bellybutton hard as punishment for scaring him so thoroughly. His boyfriend breathed in sharply but didn't protest; he just looked at Sebastian pleadingly. "But it really _was_ me, I swear, I needed to sort my own head out. I just feel like you are so…so perfect." Sebastian's eyebrow quirked and Dave chuckled. "Okay, not perfect, exactly. I mean, you are a complete asshole to pretty much everyone else…but not to me. You have done so much for me – _meant_ so much _to_ me – and I guess I just felt like I wasn't doing the same for you."

Sebastian hated the idea that Dave didn't think he was _everything_ to Sebastian. Had he not told him enough? Was there something Sebastian had done to make Dave feel like he wasn't perfect exactly as he was? He was ready to launch into what he suspected would be a very long extolment of everything that he loved about Dave, but he was cut off.

"You don't need to reassure me," Dave quickly added. "You tell me…hell, you _show_ me all the time how much you care, and how much you appreciate me. I know how you feel about me…but the problem was how _I_ felt about me and what I contribute. That's what I mean; it really wasn't you, _at all_. But I felt like you were the entire reason we were going well, and I wasn't really doing anything except being there and enjoying it. I wanted to know I could do more for you than be someone you take care of. I want us to take care of _each other_." Dave paused for a moment as an awkward expression twisted its way onto his face. "I haven't said it out loud before. I sound like a total girl, don't I?"

A sharp bark of laughter broke free from Sebastian. That seedling of hope started to grow within him once more. Perhaps he was safe to let it – Dave looked a little embarrassed, but sincere in what he'd been saying. "Maybe a tiny bit," he acknowledged, "but I can live with that. It's an interesting contrast against this _very_ manly body of yours." Sebastian curled his lips in a wicked smirk and flicked Dave's right nipple playfully. He began trailing his hand slowly down that broad, muscular chest; his thumb had just started tracing the line of Dave's waistband when thick fingers wrapped around his wrist. Dave pulled Sebastian's hand out from under his shirt, pressed a kiss to it, and rested their joined hands between them.

"I thought you wanted me to explain?" he teased.

"I do."

"Then stop distracting me," Dave chided.

Sebastian had quite a few responses to that, but he decided on discretion, at least for long enough to try and finish their conversation. He'd been waiting for five months for Dave to come to him with this, after all. "So…you didn't feel like you were doing enough for me? For us?" Sebastian asked, and Dave nodded. "Is that why you wanted to organize today?"

"Yeah," Dave agreed, "I wanted to give you…something. I wanted to see you smiling and know I was the reason. And _not_ just that smile you get whenever you see me—" he emphasized when Sebastian opened his mouth to try and interrupt, "but a smile from something I did _for you_ to make you happy. And I swear to God, Wildcat," Dave added warningly, "if you make a dirty joke about things that I can do to make you happy I am going to spank you like a child."

"Do you _promise_?" Sebastian replied with a wink as Dave groaned at him.

"Why did I think you were perfect, again?"

"Because you have eyes, babe."

"You are just…" Dave made a frustrated noise, but Sebastian could see a hint of a smile trying to break through. His boyfriend turned to bury his face in the pillow for a moment and spoke. His words were muffled, but Sebastian was pretty sure he made out the word 'arrogant' and something that sounded suspiciously like, 'son of a bitch'. Maybe he shouldn't tease Dave quite so often, but he knew the other boy didn't really mind. Not even when he had his eyes narrowed at Sebastian in a semi-glare (something the Were actually just found kind of cute) like he did at that moment.

" _Anyway_ ," Dave continued, "this morning at the lake was great and it made me feel a bit better, but all that stuff really had been bothering me for a while. The thing is, after what happened with Jacinta and Brendan, I don't feel like that anymore. I mean, not that I think anything less of what you do for me – even when you are being obnoxious and full of yourself," he added deliberately. "But I helped you today, even though I was starting to feel like I had hardly anything to offer in our relationship. I guess that's all I wanted…to know that I can help you when you need it. It's enough."

So much of what Dave was saying felt overwhelming to Sebastian. It was sounding like his mate might really be ready for their relationship to move forward, provided that everything he'd said was true. The Were had no reason to think it wasn't; Dave didn't make a habit of lying. In fact, he didn't think Dave had _ever_ lied to him. Sebastian almost didn't know how to respond – everything he'd been hoping for over the last five months was suddenly right there for him. "So," he ventured cautiously – knowing that Dave's answer to his question would tip the scales one way or the other, "does that mean you can promise me that there's no guilt helping you decide? That you don't just feel obligated?"

Sebastian waited – his heart in his throat – as Dave leaned closer, locking their gazes and answering firmly and surely. "I promise."

The words tumbled out before Sebastian could stop them, like they had tangled themselves in his outward breath, needing to be free. Once they were spoken, all he could do was quietly curse the loss of his mental filter.

"I love you, Dave."

* * *

"I…I love you, too, Seb."

He did. Dave would never have asked Sebastian to claim him if he didn't love the Were. He'd actually expected to be the first one to say it; Sebastian wasn't shy about much, but he didn't like to show his emotional side very often. Dave knew that Sebastian loved him, his boyfriend showed him with his actions all the time – but he was caught off guard to hear the words, anyway.

Sebastian was staring at him. Dave had no idea how to interpret the expression the Were held, but they'd just admitted to loving each other, so it couldn't be a bad one.

"You uh…" Sebastian cleared his throat, "you do?"

"Well, yeah…of course I do. You're…you're you." Dave gave himself a mental kick. _Smooth._ "You're my Wildcat, remember?"

A smug look formed on Sebastian's face. He nudged Dave's shoulder and let out a small, breathy laugh. Dave felt his boyfriend's leg shift over his own, Sebastian's ankle looping around Dave's knee and pulling it forward until their legs were twined together comfortably. "And you're sure about wanting the claim? One hundred percent?"

"One hundred percent," Dave agreed. He squeezed Sebastian's hand, still held in his own between them, and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. He hadn't intended to deepen it, but Sebastian's lips opened easily under his and he couldn't resist. They stayed like that for several minutes, exploring each other's mouths slowly. Dave could feel a familiar warmth beginning to spread through him, so he pulled away before they got too distracted from their conversation. "So, does that mean you are going to say yes?"

Sebastian's lips twisted into a cheeky smirk, but there was a look in his eyes that let Dave know how happy his boyfriend was. "Of course, babe. As if I'd ever say no to you."

Dave was surprisingly relieved. He hadn't realized quite how worried he was that Sebastian would say no, at least for the time being. "Do we…do we do this now?"

The disbelief on the Were's face nearly made Dave laugh, but he managed to hold it in as Sebastian replied. "As much as I'm looking forward to it, I think we can plan something more fitting than a Sunday afternoon quickie in your room. Especially while I smell like antiseptic because you cleaned my wounds after I got into a fight. _How romantic_. And I have to leave in," Sebastian leaned over to check the alarm clock on Dave's bedside, "two and a half hours. I'm pretty sure that after I claim you I'm not going to be willing to let you go for a while."

Dave smiled at Sebastian's words. He was pretty sure he wouldn't want to let his boyfriend go once they were mated, either. Ever. "So, when do you think?"

"Well, we only have a few weeks left before summer. Even though I'd love to do it as soon as possible, say 'fuck the world' and lock ourselves away for days, it's probably for the best if we do it when we have plenty of time to spend together."

"And that way," Dave hedged, "you can feel reassured that I had time to back out if I wanted to, right?"

The Were quirked his lips wryly. "Well…that might be a small added bonus…but that's not the main reason, honestly. You said you are ready, we've talked about it and I agree. But my mother told me that for the first several days it's difficult to be apart. I think we should organize to spend at least a whole week together so that your parents don't expect you home."

"That sounds perfect, Seb." He loved the way Sebastian was still trying to plan ahead and get everything right, even though Dave knew that the Were had been craving this for so long. He wasn't sure that in Sebastian's position he'd be able to stay so patient once he'd been offered what he wanted. "Thank you. For wanting everything to be perfect, I mean, and for doing so much to be sure I'm ready. I just…I really appreciate it even if sometimes it makes me crazy. You've been amazing through this whole thing."

"What brought this on?" Sebastian asked. "I'm just trying to do what's right here, babe. I lo—you know how I feel about you."

Dave's heart leapt. He could feel the words, even if Sebastian hadn't said them a second time. "Yeah, I do. But I can't help thinking about how lucky I am. This…it's not like what Jacinta has. She loves Brendan, and I'm sure he must love her too, but look at how he treated her. You've been so open and honest with me about everything. I've always appreciated it, but I guess I never thought about what it would be like if you were different. So…thank you. For all of it."

"Dave…" Sebastian hesitated, so Dave nudged him gently to encourage him to continue. "You don't need to thank me for treating you the way you deserve. I don't think I'm being anything special; I think that guy was a fucking embarrassment to Weres." Dave watched as the Were frowned. "Fucking typical wolf."

"Well, _I_ think you are special," Dave countered. He wondered what it was that made Brendan such an asshole to Jacinta. Sure, Sebastian was a jerk to people when he wanted to be, and he was _good at it_ , too, but he never treated Dave badly. "Are all Werewolves like that?"

"Not all of them, I guess," Sebastian acknowledged. "There must be good ones out there, but…well, in general they're dickheads. There's a lot of arrogance among them – because _they_ are what people think about when they think of Weres." Sebastian let out a sigh. "People knew about Werewolves as a legend before Weres became public, so Werewolves as a community think they are superior to the rest of us. But it just leads to them doing stupid shit like what that piece of crap did to your friend."

Dave couldn't help but think of some of the jocks he went to school with. They were arrogant and acted superior too, just because they won some games and others knew who they were. "So…they kinda think they are superstars? Like they can do whatever they want?"

"Yeah. It's ridiculous. The worst thing is that those _legends_ they're so proud of are the main reason why Weres are struggling to be accepted. Werewolves are the unofficial public image of Weres, because that's who society has heard the most about, but they are _such_ a bad example of us. People have been telling Werewolf horror stories for hundreds of years." Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Who even knows if Werewolves have an ego because of the stories…or if the stories came from the big ego of Werewolves who let themselves be seen, or even spread the stories themselves."

Sebastian looked frustrated. Dave could understand that; he'd been judged on stereotypes and prejudice himself and he'd certainly encountered his fair share of overconfident assholes. "Have you met a lot of wolves? Apart from Brendan?"

"A few. All of them have been arrogant, territorial, and full of themselves. They each thought they were so much better than pretty much everyone else; Weres and humans. That asshole from this morning, though, he takes the cake. Mostly they are just arrogant and aggressive. They start a lot of fights and cause a lot of trouble – they're a fucking menace. But that guy…I've never met another Were who was so dishonest with their mate, though I've heard stories."

"Well, you took him out pretty easy," Dave grinned, trying to break Sebastian out of the mood he was slipping into. "Hopefully he won't forget _that_ in a hurry."

"That's the thing…they aren't that amazing; they just believe their own hype. I'm a jaguar, and a strong one. I could take down pretty much any wolf and a lot of other Weres too, but I don't go around picking fights like I've seen wolves do. One day, a wolf is going to piss off the wrong Were – like a grizzly bear or a tiger." Dave thought Sebastian looked a little too pleased at that idea, though he couldn't help feeling entertained himself.

"Well, hopefully we won't run into many more Werewolves, then," he replied lightly.

"Oh, I don't know," Sebastian smirked, "battering that guy into a pulp today felt pretty good. It was more interesting exercise than running, anyway."

"Not funny, Seb." Dave rolled his eyes, ignoring the tiny thrill he felt when he thought about Sebastian beating down the other Were. He probably shouldn't have been pleased by it, but he couldn't deny he had been.

"Besides," Sebastian added, "you can't pretend there wasn't a part of you that felt proud of me, can you? And maybe," he flirted, "a little bit turned on seeing how powerful I can be?"

Had he been that transparent? _Oh God._ He was embarrassed that he'd been so obvious; Sebastian would never let him live it down.

"Did you like seeing me like that, babe?" Sebastian asked in a low whisper that sounded far too suggestive to Dave. "Did you like seeing me tough, aggressive, making another Were submit to me because I'm stronger…?" While he was speaking, Sebastian had let go of Dave's hand and started touching him again. The skin of Dave's lower thigh was hot along the path the Were's fingers had been stroking through the denim of his jeans.

"Fuck, Wildcat," Dave groaned, already hard from just those words and a simple touch. His boyfriend was too sexy. " _Stop it_."

"How does it feel to see me like that, ready to tear someone apart, while knowing that only _you_ can stop me? Knowing you can control me if you need to, because you are the most important thing in my world?" Sebastian's voice was smooth and seductive; Dave had no idea how his boyfriend could speak so clearly like that when his eyes were lust-darkened and he looked just as turned on as Dave felt.

The Were's fingers had travelled higher and he was squeezing Dave's inner thigh; his hand was so close to Dave's cock it was torture. His boyfriend had already said they wouldn't be performing the claim that afternoon…clearly Sebastian was trying to kill him. "You can't…you can't just say those things to me, Seb, not if we can't—"

"Just because we can't go very far, babe," Sebastian cut in as he leaned forward and nipped at Dave's jaw, "doesn't mean I don't like seeing you _want to_." Dave moaned as he felt Sebastian's hand disappear from his thigh, only to reappear on his hip, pulling until Dave's world narrowed to the hard length that was suddenly pressed against his own. "Besides, I was thinking…we could mess around a little, nothing too risky, and once it gets too hot…I can be home and on the phone to you in five minutes." Dave swallowed; his throat was dry. He wondered if maybe Sebastian should leave straight away, because he was pretty sure he was already close to 'too hot'. "Just because I can't be in the same room as you when it happens, babe, doesn't mean I can't _make you come_. What do you say?"

Dave didn't think he could say anything; he hoped the way he growled as he started sucking on Sebastian's lip said enough.


	4. The Mating

Sebastian had expected the few weeks between his talk with Dave and the day they'd chosen to complete the claim to drag by slowly, but he'd been pleasantly surprised. The last few weeks of school had taken up a lot of his time, and he and Dave had spent every moment they could together, so it hadn't been terribly agonizing.

Of course, there were moments when it seemed to Sebastian like the time would never come, but for the most part the days disappeared quickly.

Summer break had officially started that day. With the full moon unfortunately very close they'd had three options; complete the claim on the first day of break when Sebastian's senses were strong but not at their peak, do it during the days they'd flagged as "dangerous" for them each month, or wait for almost a week into their break.

The third option would have been the most logical but neither teen really wanted to wait that long; they both felt that they had waited long enough. Dave was also eager to spend a full moon with Sebastian – he had confessed (with some coaxing on the Were's part) that he was looking forward to seeing Sebastian in his jaguar form, and was hoping not to have to wait a whole extra month.

The second option was completely out of the question in Sebastian's mind. Although their reason for staying apart had been the risk of Sebastian losing control and claiming Dave before he was ready, the Were still didn't think it was a good idea. Dave had agreed to the claim, so it wasn't as though he would be forcing anything, but he wanted to be in control of himself when they mated (at least for as long as possible) and he just didn't believe he could be during that time.

So instead, they had decided to complete the claim on the first day. It might be tempting fate a little, as Sebastian's senses would be fairly high, but between them they agreed to take the risk.

The day had arrived, and Sebastian was nearly bursting with energy. He had originally considered booking a nice hotel room for a week, but his parents had suddenly decided to take a two week vacation to 'rekindle' their relationship, not that they needed it (Sebastian was still horrified at what he'd walked in on a week earlier…he was no prude but he wished his parents _were_ ).

When they told him about their getaway plans, Sebastian had rolled his eyes at how obvious they had been, but he'd nonetheless hugged his mother just a little tighter than normal. It was a nice gesture and it meant he and Dave wouldn't have to worry about anyone near their hotel room hearing them if they were a bit loud.

And he definitely intended for things to get loud.

He had struggled to sleep the night before; the anticipation had clearly been affecting him, yet he wasn't tired in the slightest…a little nervous, perhaps. Sebastian wanted everything to be perfect for his mate, and even though he was confident in himself sexually, he'd obviously never claimed anyone before. He'd done a lot of research and knew everything about the process inside and out, but knowing and doing were two different things. The fact that he would have to cause Dave pain didn't help matters.

They'd discussed the basic elements to the claim already, and Dave had reassured Sebastian that he was fine with it, but the Were couldn't help feeling a little anxious. He suspected his instincts were at play; he knew intellectually that Dave wanted to do this and wouldn't change his mind, but Sebastian was certain something inside him would be on edge until the claim was complete. Until that happened, his mate could still reject him. Restlessness had started to kick in a few days prior and seemed to be growing as the time got closer.

Sebastian couldn't help but wonder if Dave was nervous, too. If he was, he was hiding it well. They'd spoken on the phone an hour earlier, and his boyfriend had sounded calm and happy. That had eased Sebastian somewhat, but he knew he needed to see the other boy before he would be able to stop pacing like a caged animal.

He checked his watch again. _One-thirty._ That meant Dave was due to arrive in half an hour. They'd considered meeting in the morning, but Sebastian's parents had been leaving at eleven (before which Sebastian had had to sit through an attempt at the Were equivalent of The Talk with his mother, as if he didn't know everything _backwards_ already). After talking about it, he and Dave had agreed that Dave would come over after lunch instead. Both were pretty sure that if they didn't have lunch before seeing each other on the day, they would probably skip it altogether.

Sebastian had, of course, quipped that they would need their energy, so Dave had laughed and said he would be at Sebastian's at two in the afternoon. He'd spoken with his parents and they had agreed he could stay with Sebastian for at least a week, with the possibility that it would extend to two weeks if necessary. Sebastian was quietly confident he could find (or invent) a reason why it would be. He and Dave would, after all, be basically married (in Were society, at least). Ideally, they would be able to live together, but while they were both still in high school it didn't seem like a viable idea. They'd already agreed to spend the next year living in their respective homes with sleepovers several times a week. He knew his parents would open their home to Dave, as a mated couple they understood. His mate's parents might be a bit harder to convince but Dave had assured Sebastian confidently that they would be alright.

Dave had discussed their situation with his parents after he and Sebastian had agreed on the claim; the Were had wanted to be there, but Dave had insisted it was something he needed to do himself. He thought his parents would react better if he spoke to them alone and openly about it; he knew it had hurt them that he hadn't done so about his sexuality, that he had kept it a secret and only broke down and told them about it once the bullying had started.

From what he had told Sebastian after the conversation, Dave's parents had taken the news of his impending mating to a Were quite well, all things considered. His mother had been a bit worried but had calmed once Dave explained their relationship in more detail and answered her questions. His father had apparently been open-minded from the outset, one of his coworkers was a Werehawk and they had been friends for several years. When Paul found out his friend was a Were, he'd decided not to take the stories he'd heard on the news and in papers too seriously.

That had been a definite relief; although Dave's parents couldn't stop their relationship, it would still be infinitely preferable to have their blessing.

The doorbell rang, startling Sebastian. He looked at his watch again. It was twenty minutes to two – Dave was early. Glancing around his room quickly and seeing nothing out of place, Sebastian took a deep breath to settle himself then headed downstairs to let his boyfriend in.

As he opened the door, the first thing Sebastian noticed was Dave's scent. They were three and a half days from the full moon, so it wasn't completely overwhelming, but he still had to take a moment to ground himself. Dave just smelled so _good_.

The second thing he noticed was that Dave was smiling broadly. All of the anxiousness that Sebastian had been feeling unfurled from his chest and disappeared. Dave had arrived. He was relaxed and happy. He wasn't going to change his mind.

"Well?" Dave grinned. "I know I'm early, but aren't you going to invite me in?"

Sebastian laughed and grabbed his boyfriend by the collar, dragging him into a kiss in the hall as he kicked the front door closed.

"Come in," he joked, all but dragging Dave up the stairs and into his room. "Last chance to back out before I tear your clothes off and ravish you."

"You've got to be kidding," Dave replied. "You could tell me that you sprout tentacles under the light of the new moon at this point, and I still wouldn't change my mind."

Sebastian leaned in again, sucking Dave's lower lip into his mouth. In seconds he was sliding his hands around his boyfriend's neck and deepening the kiss, but Dave pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Dave said, shaking his head in amusement, "but this thing weighs a ton." He gestured to the large gym bag he had slung over his shoulder. Sebastian hadn't even noticed it; he'd been too focused on Dave.

"Geez, babe, how much stuff did you bring?" he asked as Dave walked over towards Sebastian's desk and dropped the bag onto the chair there.

"Well, I'm going to be here for at least a week," Dave replied.

"Yeah," Sebastian smirked, "but you aren't going to be needing _clothes_."

Dave rolled his eyes at the Were, but Sebastian could tell his boyfriend was amused. He watched as Dave started looking at something on the desk. _God I hope he isn't looking at what I think he is._ When Dave's eyebrows rose questioningly, Sebastian looked at the pamphlets that Dave had picked up and groaned, dropping his face into his hands in embarrassment.

"Uh, Seb?"

"Yes?" Sebastian questioned through his fingers.

"Where did you even _get_ a pamphlet called, 'So You Are Going to Claim Your Mate – a Helpful Guide for the Gay Male Were'?"

Sebastian sat down on the bed and mumbled for a moment, but pulled his hands from his face when Dave chuckled and told him to speak up.

"I _said_ …my delightful mother, in her _infinite_ wisdom, decided I needed The Talk this morning. As for _where_ she got those…those _things_ …I don't want to talk about it. I've suffered enough. The only reason they are still there instead of in the trash, is because I promised her that they would be available for you to look at. In fact," he teased, "there's one there especially for _you_ , too."

Sebastian watched as Dave sorted through the leaflets until he came upon one that made him blush. He moved it quickly under the others and shoved the entire stack into the top drawer of Sebastian's desk. "So…" Dave hedged, "we're going to pretend those don't exist, right?"

"Absolutely."

After a moment of awkward silence, Dave began to chuckle. Once his boyfriend had started, Sebastian couldn't stop himself from laughing along too. He'd had the most mortifying conversation with his mother, resulting in those ridiculous pamphlets. It was embarrassing, uncomfortable, and suddenly funny as hell.

They laughed together for several minutes. By the time their mirth had finally tapered off, they were both lying on the bed, Dave's head resting on Sebastian's stomach.

"So," Sebastian murmured, running his fingers along the back of Dave's neck, "no doubts? No more questions?"

"Neither," Dave tilted his head up to look Sebastian in the eyes as he spoke.

"The pamphlets didn't scare you off?" the Were joked, and watched as Dave's lips quirked into a smile.

"Nope," Dave replied as he crawled until he was hovering over his boyfriend, "I guess you're stuck with me."

"I guess so," Sebastian said airily, though his stomach was doing cartwheels. After nearly six months, he was finally going to claim Dave. Lying there, with Dave looking down at him, he wondered how he'd managed to wait so long. Of course he'd do anything to make sure Dave was happy, but at that moment he marveled at his own restraint. He hoped he could keep it for long enough to draw this out and make it perfect.

At that moment, Dave shifted to rest his weight against Sebastian, pressing him into the bed. His smell and warmth surrounded the Were and Sebastian felt his heart leap at the way Dave was looking at him.

 _Fuck it,_ he thought as he pulled his boyfriend into a deep kiss, _restraint is overrated_.

* * *

Sebastian was so fucking hot – so _sexy_ – and he knew exactly how to make Dave feel good. The Were was sitting astride him in nothing but his boxer-briefs, the rest of his clothes strewn across the floor. Dave's upper body was bare; the shirt he'd pulled on that morning was somewhere in the vicinity of the door, wherever it had landed once Sebastian had tugged it off Dave and threw it over his shoulder. His shoes were on the floor at the end of the bed, he had toed them off earlier and kicked them to the floor where they'd landed with a thud.

Considering how quickly they had moved from laughing together to partly undressed and completely turned on, Dave was very glad that he and Sebastian had already talked about sex in great length. Talking didn't seem to be on the current agenda.

As much as he would have liked to just go with the flow and see what happened, he knew that the discussions they had had at Sebastian's insistence had been a good idea. He'd been embarrassed when his boyfriend first brought it up, but he'd gotten over that quickly.

He knew that Sebastian had almost exclusively topped in the past, so he had been a little surprised when the Were told him that he wanted them to try both ways and figure out what they liked as a couple. He'd just sort of assumed that Sebastian already knew exactly what he wanted, and that was alright with Dave. He hadn't really experienced either way but he knew that no matter what they did, Sebastian would make sure he enjoyed it.

When he said as much to his boyfriend, Sebastian had played smug for a while before getting serious again. He'd told Dave that the reason he preferred topping in the past was mostly because he didn't know or trust his random hook-ups enough to feel comfortable bottoming for them, but that he had no such doubts about Dave. "I want us to try everything and work out together what suits us," Sebastian had told him, "I don't think my previous experiences should have any influence on our life with each other."

Sometimes Dave wondered how Sebastian managed to be so wonderful with him, yet still be such a jerk to other people (he didn't even want to recall how Sebastian had spoken to the barista who had mess up his order a few days prior), but at the same time he loved that Sebastian treated him as if he were special. Because he knew that, to Sebastian, he _was_.

Dave was pretty much convinced he was the luckiest man alive. As if it weren't enough that he had an unbelievably sexy boyfriend who loved him and was about to make a lifelong commitment to him, said boyfriend was on top of him, grinding against Dave's cock in a way that made the breath catch in his throat.

"Babe," Sebastian breathed in his ear, "do you remember that talk we had last week?"

How could he forget? Sebastian had wanted to explain the claiming process in more detail. By the time he was finished, Dave had been hard as a rock.

"Yesss," he hissed, bucking against Sebastian as the Were's clever fingers started to dip teasingly beneath the waistband of Dave's jeans. Of course he remembered – the things they had talked about had played a large role in every fantasy he'd had since.

"Well, I know we didn't actually talk about who would top, but I've been thinking about it, and I want _you_ to for our first time."

Dave must have misheard. Sebastian had been licking and nibbling at his earlobe, so obviously Dave hadn't been paying attention properly. He must have drifted in a lusty haze – this was sounding far too much like the dream he'd had the night before.

When he didn't answer, Sebastian stopped doing that wonderful thing with his tongue to pull back and look down at him expectantly. "Okay?"

"Wait…what?"

"I said I want you to—"

"Yeah," Dave replied, "I just thought I misheard you."

Sebastian's brow furrowed. "You don't want to? I mean…I thought that you wanted to try both ways…?"

"No, I do! Definitely…but…well, I thought that you had to be dominant during the claim for it to work properly?"

"Well, yeah," Sebastian teased, "but dominating and topping aren't exactly the same thing, babe. How do you think female Weres mate?"

Dave stared at Sebastian blankly for a moment as he took in the Were's words. "I uh…I hadn't thought about that."

"Apparently not," Sebastian agreed, obviously amused. Dave felt a little silly, because no, he really hadn't thought about that at all.

"I don't make a habit of thinking about _straight_ sex," he defended, and Sebastian laughed. The way his boyfriend's eyes sparkled with humor made Dave grin in response.

"I'm glad to hear it," Sebastian spoke against Dave's mouth before flicking his tongue along Dave's lips. After a few distracting minutes of open kisses and soft touches, Sebastian spoke again. "You know that the way we do this might influence our relationship. I want us to be on as even footing as we can. Besides, I already have to hurt you and I'd like to do that as little as possible."

"You would be careful."

"Of course, but no matter how careful we are, your first time bottoming is going to hurt."

Dave nodded. "I know. Either way, I trust your judgment."

"So…is that a yes?" the Were clarified. Dave groaned as he felt Sebastian begin to carefully pull down the zipper on his jeans. The warmth of his boyfriend's hand against Dave's crotch made him shiver.

"God, _yes_."

Sebastian grinned and leaned down for a kiss. Dave responded eagerly, excitement rushing through him as he started running his hands along the smooth skin of Sebastian's thighs. He moaned into the Were's mouth and raised his hips as he felt his boyfriend shifting to pull Dave's jeans and boxers down. They broke away from each other and Sebastian crawled backwards until he was at the end of the bed, stripping off Dave's socks and dropping the last of his clothing to the floor.

When Dave was completely undressed, Sebastian sat back on his haunches, eyeing him from top to toe. Dave felt self-conscious under his gaze, though he tried not to, tried to subdue the hot blush he could feel spreading from his cheeks down his neck. When Sebastian started to palm himself through the material stretched over his cock, Dave forgot all of his embarrassment – the heat stealing through his body had a different source entirely.

"Fuck, Wildcat, you're so _sexy_ ," Dave muttered as he reached for his own hard length.

"No, don't," Sebastian grabbed his wrist before Dave could grasp himself. "Just lie back and let me take care of you."

Dave wasn't sure how long he could resist, he was aching and Sebastian looked so _gorgeous_. His boyfriend was peeling the last stretch of tight fabric away from his skin and down his strong legs. He'd never seen Sebastian fully naked before, and the sight left his hands itching to feel skin and muscle beneath them. The Were was all long lines, lean yet muscular. Sebastian wasn't nearly as bulky as Dave himself was, but Dave knew that he was much more powerful than he looked. His boyfriend was so trim that his waist ended in a sharply emphasized 'V' that made Dave's mouth water. His cock was long and slender, firm and smooth, just like he was. It had the same effect on Dave as the rest of the Were's body – he yearned to touch and taste every inch.

Slowly, Sebastian climbed over Dave, straddling him and pressing their chests together so that Dave could feel Sebastian's warm breath against his cheek. They'd been in a similar position many times before, but never without a layer of clothing between them. The feeling of Sebastian's skin against his own scattered Dave's thoughts, and sent bolts of desire up his spine.

When Sebastian began to rock against him, Dave gasped, though it was swallowed by Sebastian's mouth on his. His boyfriend wasn't just kissing him, he was owning him, dominating him with his tongue. Dave whined desperately when Sebastian pulled away to focus on his jaw, then his neck. He was so turned on, he knew he sounded needy, but he just didn't care.

The second that the Were found a particularly sensitive patch of skin on the underside of Dave's jaw, Dave melted. He couldn't stop his hands from running along Sebastian's back, tracing the muscles he found there. Sebastian started grinding against him more firmly, and Dave's mind was sent reeling back to that first night, when he'd been followed by Sebastian and ended up in a very similar situation. This time, however, he knew exactly what was happening and relished in it.

His boyfriend was moving all over him, hands and lips everywhere, licking, sucking, biting. Marking. Dave could feel his own pulse like a jackhammer, pounding in his fingers, his chest and his throat. He could also feel an answering thump-thump where Sebastian's chest was lying flush against Dave's stomach as Sebastian worked his way lower, very slowly.

The Were was doing his best to mark Dave with his scent, Dave knew. It was the first step in the process, one that was sometimes neglected or overlooked, but he and Sebastian both wanted to do everything right. And although the upper part of his body felt a little clammy from Sebastian's oral attention, he wasn't complaining. He felt worshipped and wanted. And he couldn't imagine not wanting Sebastian's tongue on him.

"Oh fuck," he exclaimed, digging his hands and fingers into the pillow he was resting on as he felt Sebastian lick a stripe along the length of his cock. Sebastian stilled immediately, and Dave glanced down. The Were had his head turned to stare at the wall, fisting the bed sheets and clenching his jaw. As he turned his head back and made eye contact, Dave felt like the air had been knocked right out of him. Sebastian's cheeks were flushed, his nostrils were flared, and his eyes were dark with lust. The Were shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs, and Dave could see he was blinking rapidly. After a moment, Sebastian let out a deep breath and crept back up Dave's body until their faces were only inches apart.

"I…I think that we should get ready before I keep going. You're just – you smell so – _fuck_. I don't trust myself to stay in control for much longer, babe."

"Alright," Dave nodded. Sebastian kissed him quickly, leaving Dave's lips tingling. His whole body was on edge, he didn't know how much longer he could last either, and he knew that once he came, all bets were off.

Sebastian leaned across to pick up the lube on the nightstand and squeezed some onto his own hand. As Dave watched, he warmed the gel and spread it on his fingers before settling his weight on Dave's chest and reaching back to prepare himself.

Dave couldn't see what was happening, but he _knew_ and that in itself made his dick throb. The idea of Sebastian fingering himself, stretching his hole so that Dave could fuck him was just mind blowing. After a few minutes, when Sebastian moaned brokenly and started to thrust back against his own fingers, Dave's hands moved of their own accord, gripping the round, firm muscles of Sebastian's ass and squeezing them roughly. He could feel Sebastian's dick pressed beside his own and he wanted so badly to push against it, but he knew that would be the worst idea at that moment, even if it seemed kind of like the _best_.

"Put some lube on your fingers, babe," Sebastian croaked.

"Wh—what?"

The Were nodded at him, and Dave followed his instructions, feeling suddenly nervous. He mimicked what he'd seen Sebastian do as closely as he could. His boyfriend shifted abruptly, sliding forward several inches until Dave could feel Sebastian's hard-on against his stomach.

"Slide your fingers inside me. Three."

Dave cupped Sebastian's ass, then trailed his fingers along until he could feel the puckered entrance against his fingertips. At the first brush, Sebastian growled, thrusting his hips back and Dave was startled, pulling his fingers away. He hesitated for a moment, until he felt Sebastian's teeth nip hard at his earlobe. The brief sting was accompanied by a low snarl which made Dave's cock twitch. He quickly moved his slick fingers back into position, pressing them slowly against the tight ring of Sebastian's ass until he felt them slide into the gripping heat.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck_.

Just the thought of that same feeling around his cock made his stomach tense and his jaw clench. He almost thought he could come just from the way Sebastian had started rocking onto his fingers. Even in this position, with Dave's fingers being pumped in and out of him, Sebastian was still clearly dominant. He was basically fucking himself on Dave's hand, and the noises he was making made it pretty obvious that he was loving every moment of it.

Dave couldn't help himself any longer, he'd tried for what seemed like _ages_ , but the sight of Sebastian was just _doing things_ to him. He groaned and bucked his hips, meeting nothing but air. The sound and movement were enough to grab Sebastian's attention, though, as the Were stopped what he was doing, slowly reaching back to pull at Dave's hand until his fingers were free from Sebastian. He then leaned down to rest his forehead against Dave's.

"We're getting close," Sebastian breathed.

" _Yes_."

"You're sure you are ready for this?"

"Well I'm not going to fucking stop _now_ ," Dave groaned, and Sebastian chuckled.

"Just checking. And you remember what we talked about? When it's time, you're gonna know…"

"And I need to give in. I know. God, _fuck, I know_ , and it's _not_ going to be a problem," Dave assured him. He was already feeling the urge to submit to Sebastian, to offer himself up and let the Were do whatever he wanted with him, he could feel himself aching to be claimed.

"I just…I want to make sure. You know I'm going to lose it as soon as you come, I don't know if I'll have any thought left beyond wanting you."

"I know," Dave acknowledged. "I've seen it. Now that we're ready to do this…I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing it again. I want you to lose control over me, Wildcat."

Sebastian growled, loudly. The noise shot straight through Dave's cock, and he found himself pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to concentrate. He wanted to hold off, to last at least a bit longer. Suddenly, his cock was surrounded by wet heat, Sebastian's mouth sucking him in and Dave moaned urgently.

The pleasure was coiling inside him, winding tighter and tighter until he was teetering on the edge. Just before he let go, Sebastian pulled away, and Dave was left thrusting uselessly into the air, the saliva on his cock cooling and leaving him desperate. He was ready to beg, to plead for Sebastian to finish him off, when he locked eyes with the Were.

Sebastian looked like an animal, there was just no other word to describe it. He looked _wild_ , his eyes were bright and he was licking his lips as though he were going to _consume_ Dave.

 _Fucking hell_.

He looked unbearably sexy as he slithered his way up Dave's body, until his lips were hot against Dave's, and his hand was wrapped around Dave's dick, stroking firmly. Dave couldn't help pushing into that warm fist, he was going to come any second.

"Fuck, Seb, I'm so fucking close."

"Let go," Sebastian hissed in his ear, and Dave obeyed, plunging one last time as he cried out loudly, spilling all over Sebastian's hand and their chests.

His eyes were closed, and his breathing was harsh, but Dave could tell the exact moment that the scent of his come hit Sebastian. It felt as though the whole atmosphere changed. He'd thought Sebastian was wild and animalistic a few minutes before, but he'd been wrong.

Dave opened his eyes to see Sebastian was leaning over him, staring. Lust-blown eyes were only inches away from his own, and they were darker and wilder than Dave had ever seen them. He could only barely make out a faint ring of color around the Were's large, black pupils. He gulped noisily – Dave couldn't make out any human awareness in Sebastian's gaze.

A deep, rumbling noise echoed above him and Sebastian started sniffing along his skin, burying his nose into Dave's hair, his neck, then his armpit. When Sebastian came across a pearly strand of come beside Dave's nipple, he inhaled against the skin nearby, then flicked his tongue out to catch it. It was, quite possibly, the hottest thing Dave had ever seen.

He knew Sebastian wouldn't hurt him, even in this state, but Dave kept absolutely still. He didn't want to startle the Were, nor did he want to seem as though he would be unwilling to submit to the claim. After a moment where Sebastian's eyes drifted closed and he began to purr, Dave let out the breath he'd been holding. Sebastian looked like he was blissed out, but Dave knew it was only the beginning.

He must have made some slight noise or movement, because Sebastian's eyes shot open suddenly and he began to move. The Were's dick was still rock hard, and he started to slide it through the come on Dave's stomach, panting over Dave as he pushed against the slippery skin. Sebastian's hand trailed along his own stomach, through the ropey strands that had landed there, and he began rubbing it into his chest and neck.

Dave couldn't help staring at Sebastian – the way he was coating himself in Dave's essence was an unexpected turn on, and he could feel himself getting hard again, already. The Were's head was thrown back as he massaged Dave's come into his own skin. When he was apparently satisfied, Sebastian gripped his cock, pumping into his fist half a dozen times before howling his completion, spurting very deliberately onto Dave's chest and stomach.

Once he was done, the Were collapsed inelegantly across Dave, who closed his eyes for a minute to try and cool himself down. Dave could feel the sticky liquid, some Sebastian's, some his own, between them. He had the vague thought that he should be grossed out, but mostly he was just really, really horny. He was breathing heavily, like he'd run a marathon, although he'd done nothing but watch Sebastian for the last several minutes and try not to touch him. In fairness, that restraint had taken quite a lot of effort.

He felt something touch at his lips, and he opened his eyes to see Sebastian's finger, tracing along the crease of his mouth. The finger was wet – _Sebastian's come_ , Dave realized – and he flicked his tongue out to taste. It was strong and bitter, but he didn't hate it. He drew Sebastian's finger into his mouth, sucking gently at the digit and he felt Sebastian begin to respond.

The Were started to move, slowly and gently at first, rubbing his body against Dave's again. His movements felt languid and cat-like, he was nuzzling, pressing his face into Dave's neck and licking at the sweat damp skin as he writhed. Sebastian's hand disappeared from Dave's mouth and made its way to his stomach, moving between their bodies to slowly massage the blended come into their skin.

Dave knew that this was part of the process, but a fragment of his brain was convinced that it was something Sebastian was doing to make Dave spontaneously combust. Sebastian was purring again, like that first night, and it left Dave feeling oddly comforted. The Were didn't stop what he was doing until every drop of come on he and Dave had been rubbed along their skin until it was dry and flaking. As soon as he was done, Sebastian was sniffing over him once more, dipping his tongue out occasionally to lap at Dave's skin and send jolts of pleasure through him.

When he reached Dave's crotch, Sebastian buried his face against the skin there, dragging his nose along the line of Dave's thigh and inhaling deeply as he pressed his nose against the soft, sensitive skin of Dave's balls.

He groaned as Sebastian started dragging his hand along Dave's cock, it felt _so good_. He knew what was coming, but he had to get some lube first. Sebastian was already prepared but Dave's cock was dry. He reached out to the pump bottle slowly. Sebastian's eyes trailed his movements, but his boyfriend didn't stop him. When Dave had a measure of lube in his palm, he tried to push Sebastian's hand off him, but got a snarl in response.

"Wildcat," he whispered as soothingly as he could manage, "just one second." He patted the skin at Sebastian's wrist gently, and after a moment the Were released his cock. He coated his dick as best he could in a single stroke, it wasn't perfect, but it was all he managed before Sebastian slapped his hand away and growled warningly.

" _Mine_."

" _Yours_ ," Dave agreed, grasping at the sheets and pushing into the fist Sebastian had once again made around him. The slickness of the lube added to the feeling and Dave was overcome with the need to _fuck_ into Sebastian's hand.

Sebastian obviously had other plans, however. He pressed his free hand against Dave's stomach, his strength forcing Dave to still his movements, then he started to push. It took a few seconds, but eventually Dave understood what was happening, and he shuffled backwards. Sebastian moved with him, one hand still firmly gripping Dave's cock, until Dave found himself sitting almost upright, his back pressed against the pillows gathered behind him, and the headboard. He barely had time to steel himself for what was coming as Sebastian climbed into Dave's lap and sunk down onto his cock, fast.

If Dave had thought that the feeling of Sebastian's mouth on him was incredible, well, this was like _heaven_. Sebastian was tight – _so fucking tight_ – and the muscles gripping his cock were hot. Not just warm, but hot; scorching in the most amazing way. The way Sebastian's body felt as though it _belonged_ around him was beyond anything Dave had imagined and he moaned long and low at the new sensation.

Once Sebastian had lowered himself completely onto Dave, the Were began nuzzling at Dave's neck. Dave didn't think he should move…he wanted to thrust, he wanted to _so desperately_ , but he didn't want to hurt Sebastian, nor did he want to do anything that could be deemed dominant. He wasn't sure what would be alright and what wouldn't, so instead he sat immobile, hands clenched into fists and muscles tight as he waited, breathing heavily.

For the next several minutes, Sebastian sat with Dave's cock buried deeply inside him, and just purred. Dave could feel the vibrations from it against his chest, and on the skin of his neck and shoulder where Sebastian was licking and biting. There was one spot on his shoulder that Sebastian had been paying particular attention to, and Dave was certain he must have at least one hickey there. Sebastian's purring was making Dave feel even hotter, not just from the sound and the way Sebastian looked so pleased with himself, but also because he could feel the tremors from it inside Sebastian pulsing right through his dick.

If Sebastian didn't start moving properly soon, Dave thought he was going to go insane. The feeling on his cock was too tight, too hot, and he whined, pushing his hips up gently.

That ever-so-slight movement was all it took to send Sebastian into a frenzy. It was as though the Were had broken out of some kind of trance, he began lifting his hips and pushing back down roughly, bouncing on Dave's cock with no pace, no rhythm, just fast and frantic motions which left Dave panting and moaning. He could feel the way Sebastian was clenching around him on each upward drag and he thought he couldn't possibly last. It was too much, _far too much_ , and he needed to come, needed to make Sebastian come.

Dave couldn't resist any longer, he reached forward, trying to curl his fingers around Sebastian's beautiful cock, flushed and dripping in front of him. He wanted to feel it, hot and heavy in his hand, pump it until Sebastian released over his knuckles.

He barely felt the smooth, firm length before the Were was slapping his hand away, snarling and wrapping his own hand in its place, instead. Dave nearly sobbed, he was strung out from the feeling of Sebastian around him but he felt a pang of disappointment. He tried to remember that this was important, that there would be _plenty_ of time later for him to feel Sebastian's cock in his hand, but he didn't trust himself not to try again, so he splayed his arms and gripped either side of the headboard. His arms barely reached and the muscles on his chest felt stretched, but the way Sebastian was eyeing his torso was empowering; he didn't need to be touching Sebastian to break him into pieces, he could see it was already happening.

After a few minutes, their eyes caught. Sebastian was getting closer, Dave could see it, and he was so relieved; he didn't think he would last much longer himself. The pleasure working its way down his cock and up through his body was driving him crazy. He was tense and eager, he could feel it building inside him, getting closer and closer to that moment when he would fall apart.

Sebastian was pumping his own cock feverishly, sweat was trickling along the muscles of his chest and Dave drank in the sight, it was incredible. It was finally happening, he was going to be claimed by Sebastian, soon, he would be Sebastian's mate.

The beginnings of a deep growl began to reverberate from the Were. Dave could feel something in the air changing, the sexual energy suddenly morphing into something stronger, more primal.

 _This is it_.

The growl burst forth from Sebastian, loud and powerful, and Dave felt an increasing urge to give himself to Sebastian, to be taken by him. Dave tilted his head to the side, baring the already love-marked skin of his neck and shoulder. He saw Sebastian's eyes flash in triumph before the Were darted forward quickly. Dave felt everything at once; Sebastian tightened around him just as his teeth sunk hard into Dave's shoulder and his come splattered hotly across Dave's chest.

The combined sensations were overwhelming. He _knew_ the bite should hurt, but it didn't. Dave could feel those sharp teeth digging in, piercing his skin deeply, but all he could focus on was the connection he could feel building inside him. The triumph and elation he had seen in Sebastian's eyes began to echo within him as the world around him blurred and warped before everything suddenly snapped back into place. With one last rock of his hips, Dave thrust forcefully into Sebastian, falling over the edge where he'd been precariously dangling and spilling into the Were with a cry. He lost control of his hands, his grip on the wooden headboard failed and his arms dropped limply to the bed as Dave tried unsuccessfully to fight the wave of exhaustion that was pulling him from consciousness.

When awareness began to creep back over him, Dave realized he'd been moved. He must have passed out, because he couldn't remember shifting from his position leaning against the headboard to rest flat on his back, his head propped up on a pillow. He could feel pride warring with relief and guilt inside him, but it was muted and foreign; he knew it came from Sebastian.

Soft kitten licks were lapping around his shoulder, and Sebastian – his mate, _his_ Were – was pressed against him. Despite the sad little mewls that he could hear between licks, Dave knew Sebastian was back in his right mind. He half expected to be teased for passing out, but the Were was too focused on trying to clean up the wound he'd left.

"It's really deep," Sebastian murmured remorsefully. "You bled a fair bit."

Dave hated the regret he could hear in Sebastian's voice. He knew, could actually feel it inside him, that the regret was solely focused on Dave's injury and not the claim itself, but Dave didn't want Sebastian to feel bad for any part of what they had shared. It meant far too much to both of them.

"I don't care," Dave replied ardently, "it was worth it. More than worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It didn't even really hurt."

Sebastian's brow furrowed as he prodded gently at the area. A sharp sting flooded through Dave's shoulder and he winced. Sebastian frowned down at him. "Oh, really?"

"Well," Dave amended, "it didn't hurt as you did it, anyway. I could feel it, but not the pain. I felt connected. To you."

"So did I. I still do. I just don't like seeing you hurt."

"I know, but I don't want you to think about me being hurt. I want you to think about how amazing everything felt." Dave felt the way his words eased Sebastian's guilt and left him feeling less remorseful and more content.

"It's going to scar nicely," Sebastian mused. Dave had never been fond of scars, but he knew this was different. This would be a visual representation of what he and Sebastian shared, and he hoped it would never fade so much that he couldn't see it clearly. "I know it was necessary," the Were added, "I just don't want you to be in pain."

Dave grinned up at him cheekily. "I guess you will just have to make it up to me."

Sebastian laughed and pressed a kiss to Dave's temple. The skin tingled where his lips touched, and Dave wondered idly if they would always feel this closely bonded. He considered it could be because they were lying against each other and it was so fresh; that it could fade over time or distance. He hoped it wouldn't.

"I can feel you, Wildcat," he whispered happily as he folded his arms around Sebastian and pulled the Were tightly against him.

"Anytime you like, babe," Sebastian joked, wriggling against Dave and licking playfully at his skin.

"You know what I mean," Dave replied with an eye roll before his voice softened. "In here." He snaked grabbed Sebastian's hand and snaked their arms between them, holding Sebastian's hand against Dave's chest. "Can you feel it, too? What I'm feeling?"

"Yes," the Were admitted with a soft smile, "I can feel that you are close to me. That you are happy, and safe. The bond is a really strong one."

"This is amazing. I'm yours. For always."

"It is," Sebastian agreed. Dave spent a moment focusing on the joy he could feel, both his and Sebastian's. "But," Sebastian continued, "You aren't just mine. We're each other's."

"I love you, Seb."

"I love you, too."

Dave felt peaceful – he was sated and complete, and he knew that his Were felt the same way. Sebastian shifted off Dave until they were lying side by side, curled together and relaxed, and the newly mated couple were just content to breathe each other in. Dave looped an arm across Sebastian and let himself drift to sleep, knowing that he was safe, happy, and best of all, loved.


End file.
